Where a Paycheck Actually Goes Furthest
The highest salaries are concentrated in the most expensive places. Adjusting income for what things cost there reorders the list substantially.
Income and the cost of living move together across 531 cities of 75,000 or more, at a correlation of 0.55. That is the whole problem with comparing salaries between places: the offer that looks larger is usually in a city where everything costs more, and a good deal of the difference is repaid at the checkout and the letting agency.
Dividing income by the price level converts every figure into the same currency — what it would buy at national-average prices. The ordering that produces is not the ordering of raw pay.
Key findings
- Newton, MA tops the adjusted list at $172,388 in national-average dollars, from a nominal $190,304.
- San Ramon, CA has the highest nominal income at $196,161, but a price level of 117.6 cuts it to $166,873.
- Johns Creek, GA does not appear on the nominal list at all, and reaches $159,327 once prices are accounted for.
Highest income after adjusting for prices
| City | Median income | Price level | In national-average dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton, MA | $190,304 | 110.4 | $172,388 |
| Mountain View, CA | $189,917 | 113.1 | $167,980 |
| San Ramon, CA | $196,161 | 117.6 | $166,873 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $186,170 | 113.1 | $164,666 |
| Pleasanton, CA | $190,124 | 117.6 | $161,737 |
| Johns Creek, GA | $160,093 | 100.5 | $159,327 |
| Santa Clara, CA | $178,958 | 113.1 | $158,287 |
| Milpitas, CA | $178,798 | 113.1 | $158,146 |
| Flower Mound, TX | $161,235 | 102.5 | $157,318 |
| Fremont, CA | $181,506 | 117.6 | $154,406 |
| Ellicott City, MD | $156,964 | 103.2 | $152,120 |
| Naperville, IL | $155,105 | 102.5 | $151,343 |
| Highlands Ranch, CO | $159,307 | 105.8 | $150,619 |
| Carmel, IN | $141,505 | 94.7 | $149,503 |
| Bellevue, WA | $165,576 | 112.7 | $146,877 |
| Frisco, TX | $150,212 | 102.5 | $146,563 |
| Redmond, WA | $162,560 | 112.7 | $144,202 |
| The Woodlands, TX | $140,701 | 99.7 | $141,076 |
| South Jordan, UT | $134,047 | 97.1 | $137,987 |
| Fishers, IN | $130,203 | 94.7 | $137,563 |
What the nominal ranking looks like
| City | Median income | Price level | In national-average dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Ramon, CA | $196,161 | 117.6 | $166,873 |
| Newton, MA | $190,304 | 110.4 | $172,388 |
| Pleasanton, CA | $190,124 | 117.6 | $161,737 |
| Mountain View, CA | $189,917 | 113.1 | $167,980 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $186,170 | 113.1 | $164,666 |
| Fremont, CA | $181,506 | 117.6 | $154,406 |
| Santa Clara, CA | $178,958 | 113.1 | $158,287 |
| Milpitas, CA | $178,798 | 113.1 | $158,146 |
| Bellevue, WA | $165,576 | 112.7 | $146,877 |
| Redmond, WA | $162,560 | 112.7 | $144,202 |
The price parity is published for a metropolitan area, so every city inside one carries the same figure — this compares metro price levels, not neighborhood ones. It measures all consumption weighted the way the nation consumes, not the way any particular household does, and it excludes taxes, which in several of the places that do well here run in the opposite direction. Income is capped at the point the census stops reporting it precisely.
Methodology
Median household income from the ACS five-year estimates is divided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parity for the same metropolitan area, giving income expressed in national-average dollars. The parity is a price level for all consumption, weighted the way the country consumes rather than the way any particular household does, and its spread between places is driven mostly by housing. It does not account for taxes, which vary in the opposite direction in several of the places that do well here. Only cities inside a metropolitan area with a published parity are included.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional price parities and county personal income (Regional accounts, 2023)
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) (2024)
Related
Every figure here is recalculated from the same measurements the profiles use. See the methodology for how the underlying data is collected and normalized, and the editorial policy for how these reports are written.